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Tuesday, May 15, 2012

The Garden in Early May

Already the tulips and daffodils are finished and I have very few pictures of them!

Most of the month of April was very dry, but in the first few days of May we have had lots of rainfall. Suddenly everything is lush and green.

Most early spring flowers like these Pulmonaria seem to hug the earth. You have to get low down to really appreciate them.

This pretty red primrose is relatively new to the garden. We will have to see how it fairs

later in the summer when it typically gets very dry.

Many of the lamiums are now in flower.

Forget-me-nots are absolutely everywhere!

The alliums are picking up where the tulips and daffodils have left off.

The Ostrich ferns, which were tightly curled just a few weeks ago, have now opened up completely. They never look as fresh and green as they do at this time of year.

The bleeding hearts are all flowering.

This 'Gold Heart' is my new favourite.

Geraniums are taking over all the lightly shaded corners of the garden. They have literally self-seeded all through the back garden! Yesterday, I was even plucking young seedlings out of the vegetable beds.

The bees love them though.

The first of the spireas has already come and gone.

The large Virburnum that anchors the large flowerbed in back garden

is almost finished flowering.

The vegetable garden will hopefully go in this week. In the meantime, there are chives and parsley perfect for topping roasted potatoes.

I was also able to harvest some rhubarb. It is stewing away in a pot on the stove as I write.

In the back garden, the blossoms on the currant bushes have turned into little, translucent

green berries in what seems like the blink of an eye.

Much to my horror, Lily of the Valley is threatening to take over several flowerbeds.

But for now I am declaring a temporary truce and picking a few flowers to bring into the house to enjoy. Their fragrance is incredible!

Wow, you are so lucky to enjoy so many diverse flowers! Plus a vegetable garden...too lucky! Thanks for sharing a little bit of beauty! I also really like the use of Kim's texture on your images. It just adds to the beauty that is already there.

The red Primrose is really pretty. Nice contrast. I love when spring just explodes....your Pulmonaria is pretty. Love that picture of the Ostrich Fern unfurling...super!!! I love Lily of the Valley....I brought some home with me from my mom's house. Just can't beat that wonderful fragrance and cute little bell blooms.

Hi JenniferFabulous photos! I am especially interested in your textures photos. I hopped onto Kim's site but will need to read up on how to do this. Sure makes the photos extra special. All your flowers, even the invasive lily of the valley, are very beautiful. Happy GBBD!Astrid

Beautiful beautiful shots of all your lovely flowers. Your garden seems to be at the same stage as ours over here. Love the dark Primula, very pretty. Have been trying to get lily of the valley established here for quite a number of years, think I have managed to at last, hope I don't regret it!

Gorgeous pictures! I love watching the ferns unfurl. I very much like the white dicentra, I think I may have to add some to our garden. And the rhubarb looks absolutely delicious, it makes my mouth water just looking at the pic.

I feel like spring is rushing by too Jennifer. So sad that it goes so quickly when we wait for it all winter.I love that primula. I'm always on the lookout for different ones here ~ they are sort of my fetish!I think I need to move my rhubarb too ~ it's just not producing like it has in previous years (but then I went & planted a Serviceberry nearby which is blocking the sun! genius, right?!) I love the smell of it stewing.Those potatoes look yummy!

I noticed that a little patch of lily of the valley escaped been g pulled out. I will leave it as long as it behaves itself. I too have been pulling the rhubarb. We love it. Beautiful photos and wonderful processing for your texture. Valerie

Everything is so beautiful in the spring. My bleeding hearts are just about done, daffodil foliage laying on the ground and the roses are blooming. It is early so I do wonder what my fall will be like in the garden or will fall be the beginning of August?

Eileen, That is a good question! From everything I have heard, we are about to have a very, very hot summer. It is hard to say if the entire summer and fall seasons will shift along with the thermostat. No matter what happens, I think we will be grateful for cooler, fall-like temperatures.

I think I have found a gardening twin. So many lovelies above. Your photography is wonderful. The lily of the valley texture at the end is stunning. One of my favorite flowers!! Do you mind sharing the name of the font you used?

You must have spent 2/3 of the photo-time on your knees - much to our benefit. So very pretty. My L.o.t.V has gone wacko this year as well, as has the campanula rapunculoides, I swear it was building shoots through the winter. If only I could get some of those lovely new campanula varieties to do half as well for me... Have a lovely May 2 - 4!

I've got Lily of the Valley coming up in places I never thought as well. Was tempted to pull it all but have decided against it for now as i love those dainty flowers. Love that the rhubarb is mixed in with the flowers, it's tasty but also a gorgeous plant in its own right.

The bleeding hearts, spireas { I didn't know its name earlier } and the forget me nots are absolutely beautiful to look at !And I love that picture of chives and parsley on the chopping board, looks so fresh and roasted potatoes looks delicious.I am getting to know the names of lots of flowers after reading your blog. In our country, we have a wide variety of flowers yet some flowers are uncommon/not cultivated that much and I can see them in your garden.Have a nice day,Sanghamitra

Your photography is so beautiful--and so are the blooms! But I especially admire the lungwort photo, as pulmonaria is a plant with which I have always struggled in terms of taking a fitting picture. Yours really does its loveliness justice. :-) Happy GBBD!

Jennifer, your gardens look beautiful!It looks like you are having a wonderful spring.Those roasted potatoes look so yummy, and I absolutely love what you did with the lily of the valley photograph.Really beautiful.